Jazz vocalist Heidi Schmidt returns to Summit County

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After taking first place in the Jazz Solo Honors Competition at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music this year, Heidi Schmidt returns to Summit County for performances this weekend and next.

The jazz vocalist will perform a mix of jazz standards, Brazilian Latin and lush ballads with members of Trading Fours tonight at Silverheels Bar and Grill, 603 Main St. in Frisco from 6-9 p.m. On Sunday, she plays Adriano's Bistro, 250 Lake Dillon Dr. in Dillon, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. She returns to Silverheels Friday, Dec. 28, for an encore.

"Heidi's clear and controlled voice soars on melodies from Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Norah Jones," said Peter Taylor, her former band mate from the jazz group, Trading Fours.

"I'm a quasi native," Schmidt said of her Summit County roots. "Denver born, but my family had a cabin up on Ptarmigan Mountain which we would frequent on the weekends." Her father's work took them to Saudi Arabia when she was 8, and visits back to the States were always to Summit County. "I really consider this home," she said.

Schmidt also lived for eight and a half years in Romania, where she became a bit of a singing sensation, headlining festivals and doing radio and television interviews.

"I was invited on the most popular show, called 'Surpriza! Surpriza!'" she said. "It was frightening because those from Bucharest speak Romanian so much faster than where I lived. What if I didn't understand their questions? I made it, though. The whole experience was a crazy ride."

Return visits to Summit County always inspire fond memories and the chance to reunite with members of Trading Fours, with whom Schmidt played upon her return from Romania.